Faith is vitally important and essential. In fact, we are told "But
without faith it is impossible to please him…" (Heb. 11: 6). In the case of
Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles and others were presented empirical evidence
that Jesus had been triumphant over death. "…reach hither thy hand, and thrust
it into my side," said Jesus to Thomas, "and be not faithless, but believing"
(John 20: 27). Others observed tangible proof of Jesus overcoming death and
hades (I Cor. 15: 4-9). Yet, the walk of the Christian is "by faith" (2 Cor. 5:
7). Man has not seen God or been able to examine him in the climate of a
scientific laboratory. Notwithstanding, the reality of God is all around us if
we would only look and discern. The fact of creation is indicative of a Creator.
The Psalmist wrote:

"The heavens
declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day
uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge" (Ps. 19: 1, 2).

Some make the mistake of
thinking that God and science are totally divorced and that the reality of God
cannot be scientifically established. In this study, we shall examine scientific
or empirical evidence as to the existence of God.

The innumerable stars. I recall when a boy, I would spend hours just
gazing up into the heavens. I especially looked at the stars at night and
wondered about the vastness of the universe. "How many stars are there," I would
ask. God told Abram the following:

"And he brought
him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou
be able to number them, and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be" (Gen. 15:
5).

God is the creator of the
starry hosts and is so acquainted with his creation that he and he alone knows
the number of the stars (Isa. 40: 17-26). In fact, not only does he know the
number but he has named them.

"He telleth the
number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and
of great power: his understanding is infinite" (Ps. 147: 4, 5).

Man could not appreciate
what the Bible said about the stars until science produced the ability through
powerful telescopes for man to explore the enormity of the universe. Yet, the
Bible revealed such knowledge long before the telescope.

The fact of the earth being suspended. Science tells the story of man
groping for knowledge mostly through the process of trial and error. It was not
long ago that most in the scientific community held the view that the earth was
flat or supported on some huge foundation. As is often the case, the Bible was
far ahead of science. In about 1500 B. C. we read the following:

"He stretcheth
out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:
7).

How could the man Job only
through natural means have possessed such knowledge? The prophet Isaiah wrote of
the "circle of the earth" (Isa. 40: 22). The spherical shape of the earth
appears to be the idea. Even if we translate the Hebrew as "vault about the
earth," the spherical (circular) shape of the earth is still suggested. The
Hebrew word translated "circle" or "vault" appears in Genesis 13: 10 and is used
to describe the surrounded (circular) plain of Jordon. The knowledge of the
earth being suspended on nothing and circular in shape pre-dated science by many
centuries and is only a rather relatively recent discovery. Such knowledge
points to the reality of God.

The existence of springs in the sea.A fascinating science is oceanography. This is
enticing because man is just now really making progress with the development of
the ability to go down deep. Pertaining to the great Noachian flood we read:

"In the six
hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the
month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the
windows of heaven were opened" (Gen. 7: 11, cp. 8: 2).

A while back, I was
watching a special documentary about the ocean and what modern science is
learning. The particular segment of the documentary pertained to man now for the
first time being able to explore great depths and the consequent discoveries.
They showed species of fish about which they had no previous knowledge swimming
on the bottoms of the great depths. They then focused their under water camera
on the bottom and showed great crevices and rises. This they said were, "The
fountains of the great deep." They went on to say, "These fountains of the great
deep were broken up." The narrator appeared to be an atheist and yet he used
wording straight out of the Bible! This was the first time that science had
discovered the "fountains of the great deep," yet, the Bible spoke of such
thousands of years anterior to this recent scientific finding.

The paths of the seas. Creation not only implies a Creator, but also
shows that the Creator is a Being of order and system. When various facets of
our universe are closely and scientifically considered, it becomes apparent that
there is minute symmetry, harmony, and working. Look at our oceans and you would
think that they are simply vast bodies of water, this is what man thought for
centuries. However, there is so much more involved.

"The fowl of the
air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth though the paths of the
seas" (Ps. 8: 8).

The Psalmist had just
mentioned the greatness of the Lord (vs. 1). The fact of man’s creation is also
affirmed in the text, as well as the fact of God having created the "heavens,"
"moon," and "stars" (vs. 3-6). The oceans are not stagnant, but alive with
movement and direction. When man was able to study the oceans (satellites
orbiting the earth have made tremendous advancement in the study of the paths of
the sea), some men have come to appreciate even more the fact that the Bible set
forth the idea of paths in the sea long before science ever discovered such.

The hydrologic cycle. Again, our universe is intricate and continues
to operate based on precise laws that were obviously set into place and motion
at the beginning of creation. While the Bible identifies many of these matters,
science takes time to make such discoveries. Job made a statement aeons ago that
pre-dated science by centuries.

"He bindeth up
the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them….For he
maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour
thereof; which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly….Dost thou know
the balanceings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in
knowledge….Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a
way for the lightning of thunder; To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man
is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man….Hath the rain a father? Or who
hath begotten the drops of dew?" (Job 26: 8; 36: 27, 28; 37: 16; 38: 25-28).

How can the earth and
system continue with just the right amount of water and distribution? The answer
is seen in the above statements. Such did not just happen or evolve, such
marvelous workings are indicative of the reality of God, the Intelligent
Designer of the universe! (Ps. 135: 5-7.) The Wise Man made the following
statement that is replete with profundity of thought, surpassing mere man of the
time:

"The wind goeth
toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about
continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the
rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the
rivers come, thither they return again" (Eccl. 1: 6, 7).

All living things produce after their kind. Organic evolution is not
of God and, in fact, it is not even scientific. If man evolved from a one cell
ameba, where are all the multitudinous transitional forms that would obviously
exist if such occurred? Man is man, a dog is a dog, and a cat is a cat, this is
biblical and scientific. The order of the universe began and is maintained
through the law that the Creator put in place at the inception. Consider the
original creation:

"21: And God
created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters
brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his
kind: and God saw that it was good. 22: And God blessed them, saying, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply
in the earth. 23: And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24: And
God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle,
and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25:
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind,
and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it
was good" (Gen. 1).

Such an account of
creation is tenable and scientific. Man left to his own devices and imagination
cannot come up with such an intelligent account. Hence, the reality of God is
presupposed.

Laws of sanitation. Much of what we know as a result of medical
science is relatively recent in origin. For instance, man was without a concept
of germs and much of what we now accept as laws of sanitation. However, the
ancient Book of Leviticus sets forth a basic concept of germs, contagion, and
the consequent need of quarantined that it took man alone centuries to ever
understand and appreciate. Consider some of this teaching regarding leprosy:

"44: Then the
priest shall come and look, and, behold, if the plague be spread in the house,
it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. 45: And he shall break
down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of
the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.
46: Moreover he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up shall
be unclean until the even. 47: And he that lieth in the house shall wash his
clothes; and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes" (Lev. 14).

Contemporary science had
no understanding that could produce such instruction, but God knew.

Life is in the blood. Another fact that is now scientifically known
is that life is in the blood. Yet, this truth was stated by God in Leviticus 17:
10-16. How could the passage so state, unless the Creator who made man and
placed life in the blood knew? When we understand that life is in the blood, the
statement made by Jesus regarding giving his blood takes on more meaning (Matt.
26: 28).

The law of entropy. The law of entropy is often termed the "second
law of thermodynamics. It is the law that in an open system, all tends to
decline. The universe is an open system, as opposed to a closed system. I have
said that organic evolution is unscientific and the law of entropy proves it.
Organic evolution is based on natural selection that results in improvement. The
idea is everything moving toward perfection and sublimation. However, such is
not correct because the universe is an open system. Rather than working toward
perfection, the universe is in the process of decline, based on the law of
entropy. The Bible taught the law of entropy many centuries ago.

"25: Of old hast
thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy
hands. 26: They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax
old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be
changed: 27: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end" (Ps. 102:
25-27).

By Paul using the present
tense in describing man’s state of perishing, he is stating the law of entropy
(cp. Rom. 8: 18-23).

Intelligent reader,
without God supplying the knowledge, Moses, Job, David, Solomon, and Paul could
not have known what they did. The only way that we can understand the making of
such revolutionary statements that pre-dated science by many centuries, is that
God supplied the information. The Bible does claim to be from the All Wise
Creator (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17). When one looks around, seeing the stars, the
enormity of the universe and the order and complexity of nature, one sees the
fact of God. When one considers the teaching of God’s Book, one observes the
reality of God! Jesus said to Thomas after Thomas physically examined the
resurrected Jesus, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20: 29).